Stenographic record holder



May 29, 1956 c. DRASHER STENOGRAPHIC RECORD HOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 7, 1955 INVENTOR C'l yd e flrzzsller gnu/- ATTORNEYS y 9, 1956 c. DRASHER 2,747,547

STENOGRAPHIC RECORD HOLDER Filed Oct. 7, 1955 2 SheetsSheet 2 ivy/a VATTORNEYS United States Patent STENOGRAPHIC RECORD HOLDER Clyde Brasher, Conyngham, Pa.

Application October 7, 1955, Serial No. 539,065

1 Claim. (Cl. 12031) The present invention relates to copyholders as used in transcribing stenographic records.

As is well known, stenographic records are commonly taken on long, relatively narrow paper strips which are prior to and subsequent to the recording stored in a stack of alternately directed folds, or a fan fold. The as sumption of this folded disposition naturally imparts to the strip a series of oppositely directed creases which are retained in the strip, making it awkward and cumbersome to manipulate.

Copyholders for stenographic record strips as described in the prior art have attempted to cope with this problem. In many earlier devices the strip is kept taut in the area on the supporting surface. This is generally accomplished by means of a bar or roller pressed by gravity or spring means into engagement with a portion of the record strip, pressing it against one end of the supporting surface, while at the other end, the strip-pulling means engages the paper. Such pressure bars and rollers have their disadvantages. Namely, the pressure on the paper is concentrated on a narrow transverse area of the strip, so that if too little pressure is applied, the strip is not held sufficiently taut and the creases are not sufiiciently pulled out to promote a smooth conveyance "across the supporting surface. If, on the other hand, the bar or roller exerts too great a pressure in forcing the strip against the stationary surface, the conveyance is stopped completely or the strip breaks.

An object of the present invention is to provide a copyholder with means for gently and efficiently reducing the pronouncement of the creases in a fan-fold of stenographic tape during the process of transcription. This means obviates the stoppage of the conveyance and the breakage of the strip because the surfaces imparting drag to the strip act over a wide area on the strip and are roller surfaces at all times moving with the paper rather than remaining stationary while the paper is pressed against it. Also the means herein employed for imparting drag leads the strip through a sinuous path of convolutions tending to reduce the pronouncement of creases.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description of one approved form of apparatus involving the principles of this invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of the holder in operation;

Fig. 2 shows a vertical sectional view of the holder in operation taken on a line intermediate the side walls and parallel thereto; i. e., along line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on a line intermediate the side walls and parallel thereto showing the record-receiving drawer closed for portability;

Fig. 4 shows a cross section taken on the line 4--4 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 shows a fragmentary front view taken on the line 55 in Fig. 2.

Similar reference characters will be used throughout to designate corresponding parts.

Referring specifically to the drawings, the copyholder comprises a box generally designated 10, see Fig. 1. It includes the spaced apart and parallel side walls 12 and 14 secured to a base 16 and to :a top 18, the latter two of which are also parallel to each other. The side walls have parallel top and bottom edges, with the bottom longer than the top, a vertical rear edge and an upwardly inclined edge. The front wall 20, or copy supporting surface, is likewise secured to the side walls 12 and 14 and starts a short distance above the base 16, follows the incline of the front edge of the side walls, and curves inwardly adjacent the top 18 to terminate at the rear edge of the side walls 12 and 14. The partial rear wall 22 is secured to the inside of the side walls 12 and 14 adjacent the rear edges thereof and extends downwardly part way to the base 16 from the underside of the rear edge of the front 20 to which it is also secured. To add to the strength of the copyholder, a shelf 24, disposed parallel to the base 16 is secured to the inside of the side walls 12 and 14. The shelf 24 starts from the rear edge of the side walls 12 and 14 where it abuts and is secured to the bottom of the partial rear wall 22 and extends forwardly to a point adjacent the front 20.

It can thus be seen that the box 10 is a closed structure except for the openings between the bottom edge of the rear wall 22 and the base 16 and between the bottom edge of the front 20 and the base 16. The purpose of these openings will be described.

A strip-receiving drawer, generally designated by 26 is provided to be received into the rear opening in the copyholder between the base 16 and the shelf 24, see Fig. 3. The receiving drawer 26 includes the elongated rectangular bottom 28, to whose longitudinal edges is secured the front 34 with the fingerhole 36 therein and the sides 30 and 32. The sides 30 and 32 are generally rectangular except for the upper forward corners which are cut off at an angle to preclude abutment with the inclined underside of the front 20. A spring latch 38 is installed in the top edge of the back 34 to cooperate with the keeper 40 mounted on the underside of the shelf 24 in retaining the drawer 26 in the closed position. The drawer 26 is adapted to be received in the box 10. Drawer 26 is by its construction open at the front and top and is adapted to receive the strip 50.

The driving means generally indicated at 44 for conveying the record strip 50 is positioned adjacent an opening 42 in the upper portion of the supporting surface 20 and intermediate the edges thereof so that it extends lengthwise of the front 20. The driving means 44 comprises a conventional electric motor 44 of the selfbouncing type supported on an L-shaped bracket 46 secured to the inside of the rear Wall 22. Motor 44', preferably controllable by a foot switch (not shown), is equipped with a built-in speed reducing gear having output in a soft rubber wheel 48. The wheel 48 is in a plane parallel to the side walls 12 and 14 and a portion of it protrudes through the opening 42 in the front 20 to engage the underside of the record strip 50. An aperture in the top 18 receives operating arm 56 which is secured to a U-shaped bracket 54 pivotally mounted on the underside of the top 18. The U-shaped bracket is springbiased downwardly about its pivot and carries the idler roller 52 which engages the upper side of the strip 50 immediately above the wheel 48. By pressing the operating arm 56, the idler roller 52 can be retracted upwardly during the loading operation. The idler roller 52 has a longitudinally serrated periphery for better engagement with the strip 50.

'rod 6% is provided with two sleeves, 63 and 63', one on each side, proximate the side Walls 12 and 14. This has 7 T been found to be the most satisfactory arrangement from the standpoint of economy and efiiciency.

Additional means provided to control the movement of the record strip 50 are the curbs 64, see Fig. 4, formed in the supporting surface 22 proximate the side walls 12 and 14 to limit "the transverse motion of the strip 50 during conveyance. Guides 66 at the top and the bottom, preferably of transparent material such as lucite, are mounted transversely of supporting surface 20 on the curbs 64 and spaced above the surface of the front 20 to retain the strip against the supporting surface of the front 20 at all times. Also, a stop 68 is secured transversely of the base 16 to hold the untranscribed strip package away from interference with the rods 58 and 60.

In preparation for use, the record strip receiving drawer 26 is withdrawn from the copyholder, see Fig. 2, and the V untranscribed strip package is placed on the base 16, with its forward edge abutting the stop 68. The leading end, ot the strip package is'then threaded out of the box 10 a under the rod 66, back into the box between the'rods 60 and 58 and then to the top of its supporting surface 20 under the guides'66. The operating arm 56 is momentarily depressed to allow the strip to be fed between the wheel 48 and the roller 52. From this point on, operation of the motor 44 will convey the strip over the supporting surface 20, out the back of the box and into folded condition in the record receiving drawer 26.

Thus I'have invented a compact copyholding device, sturdy in structure and neat and attractive in appearance. Its construction is simple and it includes few moving parts to get out'of order. Above all, my invention presents a device which conveys the record strip more smoothly than prior devices and this success is primarily due to the provision of the rotatable rod members which frictionally engage the strip, keeping it taut in the area between the rods and the driving means in a manner described above.

It will be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific construction or arrangement of parts shown, but that they may be widely modified within the invention defined by the claim.

I claim:

In a copyholder for stenographic record strips comprising a box including a base member, parallel side walls having vertical rear edges and front edges inclined upwardly and rearwardly secured to said base member and top edges spaced above said base, a top member secured to the top edges of said side walls, an inclined front wall secured to said side Walls and extending therebetween and upwardly and rearwardly from a point spaced above and closely adjacent said base member to a point below said top, said inclined front wall extending beneath saidttop and terminating at the said rear edge of the said side walls, said inclined front wall forming a supporting surface for a stenographic record strip movable thereover, and driving means for moving said stenographic strip mounted in said box and engaging said stenographic strip; the improvement which consists of a pair of superposed rotatable rod members extending between and journaled in said side walls and positioned in the opening between the lowermost edge of said inclined front wall and said base and adapted to engage the stenographic record strip, and maintain said strip substantially taut between the point of engagement of said driving means and said strip and the point of engagement of said rotatable rods and said strip.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

